


Promise

by Fayth_Delarosa



Series: The Most Precious of Cinnamon Rolls - G'raha Tia [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Cystal Exarch must be protected at all costs, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, Fluff, Genderless Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Other, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Post-Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers, Promises, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, cinnamon roll G'raha Tia, he is best boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-27
Updated: 2019-11-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:21:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21579814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fayth_Delarosa/pseuds/Fayth_Delarosa
Summary: During a night of celebration, an opportunity to lay everything bare arises.
Relationships: G'raha Tia | Crystal Exarch/Warrior of Light
Series: The Most Precious of Cinnamon Rolls - G'raha Tia [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561264
Comments: 4
Kudos: 71





	Promise

**Author's Note:**

> Prepare for some fluff.
> 
> I LOVE the Exarch. I've loved him since the Crystal Tower. 
> 
> And, based on his dialogue, he could very easily love our WoL as well.
> 
> Keep in mind, no race or gender is mentioned for the WoL in this story.

The paths of the Crystarium were lined with banners and strings of lights, casting a warm, almost ethereal, glow onto the stone lined pavement. Even under the veil of night, dozens, if not more, of the cities inhabitants were outside in celebration. Many were out dancing and frolicking in merriment while others crowded around the recently arrived heroes of the hour. You smiled as you saw the looks of awe and wonder cast upon your friends. They, in turn, seemed almost overwhelmed as they answered a barrage of questions aimed at them. You could almost laugh at how out of their element they were, yet you didn’t. Instead, you watched on from a distance, perched up on one of the higher sections of the city which overlooked the entrance to the Crysatrium.

At some point, you were able to swiftly sneak away from the onlookers, and thankfully they continued to remain oblivious to your absence. The others deserved praise, and you would rather take the time to reflect on the long journey that you’ve had while in the First. You closed your eyes for a moment, savoring the sounds of happiness and laughter below and the feeling of the gentle breeze brushing by you. You opened your eyes once more and looked down; noting that the boy that found you earlier has rejoined the others. As you rescanned the area, you noticed that there was one person mysteriously missing and looked over multiple times; your attempts to find them being unsuccessful.

You huffed; of course they would also step away from the celebration; even though to you they were the one that was most deserving of it.

Your ears picked up the sounds of footsteps approaching you as well as the very distinguishable sound of a staff tapping the ground and you let a small smile escape you.

“Not in the mood for a celebration?” They asked, their voice so easily distinguishable amongst the endless sea of voices that reached your ears.

“Too many people,” you easily replied before turning around to face them; the robes of red and white a stark contrast to the bits of crystal that were visible to you, “And what of you, Exarch? Have you grown tired of the festivities already?”

“Mayhap I was expecting a certain someone to be there celebrating with me, and since they were not there, I decided it best to retire for the night” he replied, walking to you to take a place beside you, leaning against the railing to look up at the ink filled sky, “It’s been a long day, hasn’t it?”

“Yes, it has,” you whispered, your mind recalling the events that happened just earlier in the day. Had you not already been exposed to countless situations of having to save the realm, you would have scarcely believed all that had been accomplished in one day. “And now Norvrandt can work towards a brighter future.”

“Yes, a future…” the Exarch paused, waiting for you to look at him before continuing, “A future only made possible by you.”

You sighed, running a hand through your hair, “I don’t deserve the praise.”

The Exarch gave you a sharp look then, causing you to pause in the direction your thoughts were headed, “You deserve that and much more,” he stated firmly, “do not undermine the enormity of what you have accomplished. You have done more in mere days then what we have done in a century’s time.”

You decided to let the matter drop, not willing to engage in an argument over your self-worth. “Yes, well, there is still much more to be done. I should probably return to the source to put Tataru’s worries to rest.

Thankfully, the Exarch did not call you out on your rather tactless attempt to change topics, “Would that not be better left for the morrow? You should rest and recover tonight. You’ve had a long battle today.”

You could almost smile at hearing those words. The Exarch would always worry over you and speak to you about the importance of rest and recovery. It was almost hilarious in its absurdity; the Exarch clearly did not practice what he preached. “I would say the same to you,” you replied.

You caught the sight of his ears flicking at your response; clearly he was caught off-guard by your answer. “I…well, I have had more than enough rest to last me a lifetime.” He replied, able to recover his composure towards the end.

You simply hummed in response, letting the moment sink into a comfortable silence between the two of you. The sounds of the others below you were now less pronounced; and you wondered if maybe the residents were finally succumbing to the lull of exhaustion after so much celebration. “You know,” you began, turning your attention back to the night sky, “I’m still cross with you.”

“With me?” you heard his confused reply and you were curious if he still tilted his head to the side in confusion as he used to do….

Back then in your shared adventures of the Crystal Tower.

Back in your carefree days; where you jumped at the chance of danger and adventure with no regard for consequence. Back when you were both young and foolish. You chuckled to yourself; it was different now. You both had grown older and wiser in your separate paths; each working to a common goal.

_To save the realm; for those you have lost, for those you can yet save._

You turned towards him and quickly reached up with your hand and caught one of his ears between your fingers; not enough to hurt but definitely enough for him to follow your lead as you tugged him to face you. “Yes, you,” you stated, your tone even, “and your absurdly insane plan of self-sacrifice. What were you even thinking?!” you ended in a higher than normal tone, your irritation beginning to show through. “How could you, in _any realm_ , think that that would be the best course of action?” you ended in a hiss.

The Exarch regarded your words with a neutral expression and that infuriated you all the more, “I only did what I thought would be best for the realm and what would spare you from being consumed by the primordial light.”

“You didn’t think to _ask_ me for my opinion on the matter?” You questioned.

The Exarch smiled then, though it was clear to you that it was in sadness rather than mirth, “Had I asked you,” he reached up and his hand grasped your own, extricating his ear from your hold. You expected him to let go of you, but instead he held on, “You would have done anything in your power to stop me. But,” he paused to breathe before he continued, “in saving one, you would save none. And I could not allow you to fall here. Were it in my power to do so, I would _never_ let anything happen to you.”

The weight of his words hung heavy between the two of you. You swallowed, willing the lump that was forming in your throat to go down and wishing that your heart would slow down. Your anger had instantly gone, leaving you only with an ache you were all too familiar with. It was the same ache in your chest that you felt back then; back when you were forced to watch his retreating figure, the doors of the crystal tower severing your path to him before being powered down, placing him in stasis.

The first time you were forced to say goodbye.

The loss of him was different compared to the others. Back when your fellow Scion adventurers were massacred by the Garleans, you had felt loss; but it wasn’t as profound. You had only known them in passing; as your life of adventuring did not afford you time to form strong bonds with every Scion.

Losing him was worse, because it wasn’t an absolute loss, he wasn’t dead. He had just been sealed away, so close and yet so far away from you. During that time after, as you reflected back on those moments, you had come to realize that in the limited time that you had together with him your feelings changed. From your first meeting to your adventures in exploring the crystal tower and uncovering its secrets, your feelings morphed from exasperation and amusement to warmth and caring.

And those feelings took on a whole new form since your arrival on the first. Seeing the Crystal Tower the first time unlocked long repressed memories, pushing them to the surface. Seeing the Exarch, working alongside him, reminded you so much of that young Miqo'te from your past, still slumbering within the tower at the Source. It made you wonder of what could have been, and the ache in your chest grew in intensity. For, although you were surrounded by many friends and allies, you had never felt so alone.

But he, _he_ , didn’t see you for your status, he didn’t see you as the famed Warrior of Light, savior of the realm, he only saw _you_. He treated you the same as any other, he voiced his thoughts with no reservation. And despite him calling you his inspiration, you felt that it should be the opposite.

 _He_ inspired you.

When the Exarch’s true identity was revealed, you couldn’t say you were all that surprised. You had moments that had you suspect that the Exarch was not being completely truthful; but you could never really confirm those thoughts. So when his identity and plans were fully revealed to you, the ache in your chest became unbearable.

The others believed that your screams and groans of pain were purely attributed to you being overwhelmed by the flood of primordial light which was, in part, true. But part of you screamed to the Exarch; you wanted to beg him to stop; you wanted to tell him that he was insane. So many things that you had wanted to say, things you’ve kept locked away in your heart.

But all you could manage to say at that time was his name.

“G’raha Tia.”

There it was – that glassy, faraway look in his eye. His body tensed, and you were unsure if it was because he was uncomfortable or if he was simply surprised at hearing his name. It pained you, that he had to spend centuries in slumber, waking to a desolate land on the brink of collapsing to then traveling to a strange new world and spend a century hiding his identify, planning for you, planning for _sacrifice_ …

“I don’t want you to sacrifice yourself for me…” you started, your voice strangely calm considering the thunderous beating of your heart, “I want you at my side.” _Always_ , you wanted to add, but your mouth didn’t seem to want to cooperate with your heart and a small side of you feared. Feared bearing your soul to him only to be crushed-

You thoughts came to a halt and the air was knocked out of your lungs as your body was pulled into an unyielding hug. You blinked several times, trying to process what happened in the span of mere seconds. Your nose was assaulted by his scent, so uniquely his, overloading your mind and short circuiting any coherent thoughts. He shuddered against you, taking a deep breath as if trying to remember your own scent and his hold on you became even tighter.

“Say it again,” he said, a pleading tone to his words.

And in that moment you felt like the biggest fool. How could you ever have any doubt for him? The silence stretched between you, two hearts yearning, reaching or their other half. Two souls lost in the space of time, separated by worlds; needing to connect, to be whole. Your breaths were shaky and you slowly pulled away. You needed to see him, and he needed to see you it seemed; as he allowed you enough room to pull away slightly but did not, would not, let you go. Not that you wanted to go anywhere.

Not now because, to you, your everything was right in front of you.

“I want you at my side,” you began, and you mentally cursed at your damned voice for refusing to remain calm, your emotions overwhelming you, “I want us to speak without concealment. I want you to share stories of your efforts in Norvrandt with me. I want to tell you of my next adventures and ask you to join me in them. I want us to travel the lands and cross the seas and take to the skies upon the eternal wind,” you confessed, repeating every memorized word that the Exarch once shared with you, in that time that you both shared in Kholusia, “I want to discover the tales of this land, its history and its secrets, with you.”

You took a breath, the next words requiring as much courage as you could gather. It felt almost hilarious how easily you charged into danger at an almost daily basis and yet you struggled with something that seemed to be so simple. But it wasn’t simple – you reminded yourself – this moment, here and now, meant _everything_ to you.

“Always with you…if you’ll have me, G’raha Tia…” you ended in a whisper.

You felt more than saw him shake, the glassy look in his eyes intensified and you realized a single tear escaped from his crimson eye; those mesmerizing eyes that entranced you since the first moment you met; at first a startling contrast of one red and one green until he fully unlocked the Allagan bloodline imbued within him where it then turned into two piercing crimson eyes.

Said eyes continued to regard you for a moment and you could easily lose yourself within them were it not for a sudden pressure on your body as his pulled you back to him and you felt his lips upon your own. The kiss was harsh, two pairs of lips pressing urgently against the other, wordlessly expressing their need and want for each other. You leaned into him, your hands coming up to fist themselves in his robes; seeking stability. His lips, you subconsciously noted, were soft and very sensitive as you nipped at his bottom lip and were rewarded with a groan. Eventually, you had to pull away to breathe, as did he, if his panting were any indication.

“I…I never thought, I have always _dreamed_ ,” he tried to speak, his forehead pressed against yours.

You quickly pressed your index finger to his lips, stopping him. “Shhh, it’s okay. We’re here now,” you smiled, something that was so natural when you were around him, “We have forever to look forward too. Just…” you paused, “promise me that you’ll never do something so ridiculously reckless again. We will walk this path together, no matter where it leads.”

His eyes widened briefly before he began to laugh. Your heart swelled at the sound, elated at how carefree he seemed to be.

The distant sound of fireworks bursting reached your ears, the flashes of different colored lights illuminated his face. Such a fittingly convenient moment, you thought. This time, this space, made solely for the two of you.

His laughter eventually turned into a chuckle, his hold on you tightened.

He gave you a chaste kiss, his eyes open and clear to you, _for you_.

“I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm thinking I can expand on this...although I'm not sure how.
> 
> But, if you are interested in more Exarch x WoL goodness, please let me know!


End file.
